The cultural history of what is now Ontario stretches back more than 10,000 years. Many Nations and many peoples have called this place home. MyOntario – A vision over time marks this long history by opening a conversation among Ontarians about our experiences, identities, values and aspirations.
We are asking people from across the province to share their stories – the places, memories, photos, artifacts, artworks and traditions that inspire you, that motivate you and help define who you are. Be the province's storytellers, record keepers, historians and visionaries!
Let's build a deeper understanding, showcase our diversity and create a lasting record that reflects the breadth, depth and complexity of our great province as we look to the future.
Litsa Tsouluhas
I love Toronto because it celebrates diversity. This is unique, not only to Canada but to the world.
Ontario means the Great Lakes.
Ontario is making an effort to redress a colonizing past.
- Litsa Tsouluhas - National Aboriginal Day at Fort York National Historic Site - June 22, 2017
Carol Page
My Ontario is represented by Lake Ontario. It is awe-inspiring to view the Lake in all seasons. I wanted to capture the essence of the lake water by recreating its colours. My installation is called "Watermarks". I used textiles, paint samples, papers, silver threads, plexiglas and tape to portray t
#MyOntario
What's your favourite fall fair memory?
Was it going for a spin on the merry-go-round? Bringing home a ribbon? Enjoying harvest-time treats? Share your favourite fall fair moments with us!
Join the conversation on social media: Explore #MyOntario posts about fall fairs in Ontario and connect wit
Pauline Moss
Fresh fruit, small towns, variety, farm fields, sunsets, lakes, camping, family
- Pauline Moss, Emancipation Day celebration at Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site, Dresden, August 5, 2017
Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site
Manilla originally collected from the sunken ship S.S. Duoro, located in the Western Isles, Sicily. Manillas such as this were considered to be 'slave trade money', as they were used as currency during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade during the early 15th century. They were often constructed from cop
James Raffan (author, speaker and consultant)
On Cranberry Lake
Afloat at dawn and inhaling the misty rays of rising late-summer sun. Other days, it might be a sunset paddle with a Thermos of coffee in Listening Bay, watching Venus chase the sun to China. Or maybe idling in star-speckled moonlight, howling with the coyotes, or startling with
Jean-Luc Pilon (Curator of Central Archaeology at the Canadian Museum of History)
The gift of time travel
In the summer of 1982, I was carrying out archaeological research near the shores of Hudson Bay on the Severn River. One of the sites we were investigating had been used a number of times. The earliest evidence suggested that people camped at the Ouabouche site before Europ
Dr. Patrick Julig (Professor of Anthropology, School of Community and Northern Studies, Laurentian University, Sudbury)
Reflections on ancient quarry sites of northern Ontario
In the 1980s-90s, I excavated at Cummins and Sheguiandah National Historic Site quarry/workshops in northern Ontario – in addition to many neat places elsewhere around the world.
We archaeologists are inspired in our quests, seeking rare an
Eleanor McMahon (Ontario’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport)
A Place to Stand
As Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, I’ve had the privilege to meet many proud, talented and hardworking Ontarians through my participation in a number of special events and occasions. One highlight came a few months ago.
It was a perfect late-summer day in our nation’s ca
MyOntario is ...
We are bringing MyOntario – A vision over time to communities across the province to find out what Ontario means to you!
In 2017, our MyOntario roadshow and interactive kiosks are coming to community events, museums and more. It’s a unique chance to join a provincewide conversation about our expe
Laura Wickett
Industrial heritage in Jordan Harbour
To find your way to one of Niagara’s hidden gems, you first need to know which dead-end street in Jordan Station to park on, and then take an overgrown pathway through the bushes to a steel train trestle bridge. Follow it out over the mouth of Jordan Harbour,
Nathan Tidridge
Local residents in #Waterdown holding their spots for the annual #Flamborough Santa Claus Parade later that day. #MyOntario
Trini Mitra
One of the happiest moments of my life ... when Mum was visiting me in 2015 and was thrilled when I took her to the Niagara Falls in the middle of November. It was quite an experience for someone who is not used to our frigid temperatures to be experiencing the Falls in the middle of Winter. She was
Jean Lumb, C.M., 1919-2002
Jean Lumb was born Jean (Toy Jin) Wong in British Columbia, and came to Toronto in 1935. She was soon operating a profitable fruit store and, by 1959, she co-owned the well-reputed Kwong Chow restaurant with her husband, Doyle Lumb. Energetic and outgoing, she established strong links with prominent
The Royal Canadian Regiment Museum set of Colours (1901-06)
Once serving the practical purpose of a rallying point on a battlefield, today, Regimental Colours are exclusively ceremonial objects representing the history and spirit of a regiment.
Traditionally, Canadian infantry regiments hold two colours: The first is the reigning monarch’s Colour showing the royal cypher, and the second is the Regimental Colour, displaying the unit’s Battle Honours embroidered on scrolls. Battle Honours are an official acknowledgement of a regiment’s engagement in combat. They are awarded for both campaigns and individual battles.
The first Colours of The Royal Can
#MyOntario
Where are Ontario's best butter tarts?
When we asked for your favourite places to enjoy this quintessential Canadian treat, your answers spanned across the province – from your neighbourhood bakery to your family's kitchen. And despite a lively debate over the best butter tart fillings, there's one thing we can all agree on: Ontario's culinary heritage is just as rich as this iconic dessert!
Join the conversation on social media: Explore #MyOntario posts about butter tarts and connect with us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Jeremy Collins
A santuary for all seasons
When I think of My Ontario, my thoughts sometimes turn to those cold Canadian winter days in late January and early February when snow and ice prevail and the hope of spring is just a distant dream and yet I know that a sanctuary for the senses is not too far away. This
#MyOntario
Share your trillium sightings
Trilliums, Ontario's official flower since 1937, bloom in mid-May. In addition to the white (grandiflorum) variety, trillium varieties also include red (erectum) and yellow (lutem). This photo of a red trillium was taken at the Fleetwood Creek Natural Area.
Did yo
Kathleen Wynne (Premier of Ontario)
Honouring our past, embracing our future
Ontario is Canada’s largest and most diverse province – home to ingenuity, inclusiveness and optimism.
Our province’s 150th birthday is a chance to reflect on our many achievements and look to the work that lies ahead with a renewed sense of purpose.
O
Afua Cooper, PhD (James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies, Dalhousie University)
The Black history of Ontario inspires me and defines who I am
Peggy Pompadour haunts me. I walk through the streets of Ye Olde Towne Toronto and I feel her presence – this Black enslaved woman who was owned, jailed and sold by colonial administrator Peter Russell. Peggy often ran away from slavery
Julie Dorsey
Diverse.
- Julie Dorsey, Emancipation Day celebration at Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site, Dresden, August 5, 2017
Henie Frances
I met my husband at the end of March 1964. I was 17, a Grade 13 student, and doing a three-day public relations job at a convention in a downtown Toronto hotel, where he was in sales for the event. He invited me out and took me to the Dunlap Observatory where the planet Venus was being observed. It
Susan Bryan (volunteer Chair of the Nature Reserves Committee of the Thunder Bay Field Naturalists)
Someone has passed this way before
I’m standing on the deck of a small boat, riding the swells of the Nipigon River where it widens into Lake Superior. In front of me, a rock cliff rises straight out of the water. On this cliff are a series of pictographs – lines, circles and other symbols – as we
Leah and Kaitlin, Fulford Place
Working at a historic site, we work with artifacts daily and show them to the public. What isn't obvious is the story behind each object, which makes our research that much more exciting and interesting. This photo shows some of the 79 ivories in the Fulford family collection. Notably, the family ha
Chief Francis Pegahmagabow, 1889-1952
Francis Pegahmagabow, an Ojibwe of the Caribou clan, was born in Shawanaga First Nation. He volunteered at the onset of the First World War and served overseas as a scout and sniper with the Canadian Expeditionary Force's 1st Battalion. He was one of 39 Canadian soldiers awarded the Military Medal a
J.M. Rowe, Esquesing Historical Society
The Great War 1914-1918
The home front – Georgetown
This quilt was created through the efforts of the Georgetown Women’s Institute in 1915. The citizens were asked to pay 10 cents per name to have it embroidered onto a square for the quilt. It was completed in time for the 1915 Esquesing (George
